The idea of David Cronenberg returning to the science fiction milieu at all is a tempting one – and the fact that he's got a solid budget and the likes of Viggo Mortensen [a regular Cronenberg collaborator], Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart leading the cast just adds to that. Get excited then, for Crimes Of The Future, which the writer/director should be filming this summer.
Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar and Lihi Kornowski are also aboard for the film, which Cronenberg wrote and will kick off shooting in Greece. "I have unfinished business with the future," is how Cronenberg describes the film, which will be set in the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings. This evolution moves humans beyond their natural state and into a metamorphosis, altering their biological makeup. While some embrace the limitless potential of trans-humanism, others attempt to police it.
Either way, "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome", is spreading fast. Saul Tenser is a beloved performance artist who has embraced Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, sprouting new and unexpected organs in his body. Along with his partner Caprice, Tenser has turned the removal of these organs into a spectacle for his loyal followers to marvel at in real time theatre. But with both the government and a strange subculture taking note, Tenser is forced to consider what would be his most shocking performance of all.
It's a high concept to be sure, and one that also harkens back to Cronenberg's 1970 film of the same name, which just so happens to feature a man who "parodies childbirth by continually growing new organs which are removed from his body". Could there be a link?